The local litter action initiative will involve council working in partnership with Charles Sturt University (CSU).

Council secured the funding to undertake a project to tackle litter at hotspots within the central business district of the city and the CSU precinct.

Member for Bathurst Paul Toole said the ‘Hey Tosser! Bathurst’ project will include education, infrastructure, community engagement, enforcement measurement and monitoring at four major retail sites. 

“Local communities are best placed to know where the local litter hotspots are and how best to tackle the problem,” he said.

“The NSW Government is revitalising anti-littering efforts across NSW, including providing this support to work with

councils and communities at the local level.”

Under the initiative, new bins will be installed, innovative education strategies trialled, and surveillance and monitoring boosted to deter litterers and enforce penalties.

The $20 million Litter Prevention Program is one of several initiatives under the NSW Government’s $465.7 million Waste Less, Recycle More project to transform waste and recycling in NSW.

It also includes funding for community litter prevention grants, currently available through Keep NSW Beautiful.

Environment Minister Rob Stokes said 31 projects across NSW, involving 43 local councils, will share in the $2.3 million awarded in this round of the NSW Government’s Litter Grants.

Mr Toole said 77 per cent of people say the issue of litter is ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ important to them.

He said cigarette butts are the most commonly littered item in NSW, making up 43 per cent of all litter. 

Across Australia, 7.2 billion cigarette butts are littered each year.

“Paper and paperboard are the next most littered items, including tickets, cups and ice cream wrappers. Plastics, including

bottles, tops and straws, come next.”

Mr Toole said the Hey Tosser campaign is based on research that shows nobody likes littering, but everybody will litter something, somewhere, at some time.

“People are more likely to litter if they think no one can see them,” he said. “And, people are less likely to litter if they think people are watching, if there’s a bin nearby, if the area looks clean or when there is clear and consistent signage.”